Non-folding e-bikes will be banned from London Tube and rail services from the end of the month to “ensure the safety of customers and staff”, Transport for London (TfL) has said.
TfL will also ban e-bikes from the London Overground, the Elizabeth line, and the DLR (Docklands Light Railway).
It follows what TfL calls a “comprehensive review of the safety of e-bikes” and how suitable they were to be taken on the city’s transport network.
Aslef, the train drivers’ union, which has pushed for a ban on safety grounds following an e-bike fire last month, welcomed the move.
Both Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan and TfL said most e-bikes are safe, but Sir Sadiq added that “there have been a small number of incidents where non-foldable e-bikes have caught fire on the transport system, which have caused me great concern”.
TfL said in a statement that “customers in possession of non-foldable e-bikes will not be permitted to travel on most TfL services, including on the Tube, Overground, Elizabeth line and the DLR”.
It was acting “to ensure the safety of the network for customers and staff”, it said.
“The ban includes all non-folding e-bikes, including standard cycles that have been converted to e-bikes using conversion kits.”
Aslef called for the ban after an e-bike caught fire on a platform at Rayners Lane Tube station in northwest London last month. The blaze was extinguished by London Fire Brigade (LFB) crews.
Finn Brennan, Aslef’s organiser on London Underground, said the measure is “something that Aslef’s health and safety reps have long campaigned for”.
“It will reduce the risk of a serious accident, and the dangers caused by large numbers of unfolded e-bikes blocking exits in emergencies,” he said.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
LFB’s deputy commissioner, Charlie Pugsley, said the brigade welcomed the move which “acknowledges the risks that we know e-bike batteries can pose”.
In the capital, he said, “we have been seeing an e-bike or e-scooter fire every other day, on average, and we have particular concern about the risk posed by conversion kits or modified e-bikes”.
Fires caused by e-bikes “can be sudden, incredibly ferocious and produce smoke that is extremely toxic”, he said.
Read more from Sky News:
Newborn found dead ‘in M&S bag’
Helicopter crash in ‘worst ever’ wildfires
Trump urged to fire defence sec over war plans leak
Lilli Matson, TfL’s chief safety, health, and environment officer, said the ban “will play a vital role in keeping our transport system safe for everyone”.
TfL said it is the first transport operator in the UK to enforce such a ban.
But the general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, Maryam Eslamdoust, said the ban “doesn’t go far enough”, because, though smaller, folding e-bikes “use the same lithium-ion batteries, and they’re just as capable of catching fire or exploding”.
“To truly protect people on the network, TfL must extend the ban to include all e-bikes,” she said.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
E-scooters were banned from the Tube in 2021 after a fire on a District line train.
In 2023, Scott Peden lost his partner and two children after an e-bike battery exploded and started a fire.
